Güyük Khan

Güyük (貴由, 1206–1248) was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. The eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he was elected in 1246 after a regency of almost five years and died in 1248, before his reign had properly begun. His cousin Kublai, founder of the Yuan dynasty, later honoured him with the temple name Dingzong (定宗).

His short reign is best known in Europe, because a papal envoy, the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini, witnessed his enthronement and carried home his reply to the pope.

The Young Güyük and His Rise to the Throne

Güyük was born in 1206, the year his grandfather was proclaimed Genghis Khan. His mother was Töregene, Ögedei's senior wife. He grew up in the military life of the Mongol princes, and in 1233, during his father's reign, he helped lead the campaign that destroyed the short-lived Eastern Xia state in Manchuria.

From 1236 he took part in the great western campaign against the Kipchaks, the Rus principalities and the peoples of the Caucasus, under the overall command of his cousin Batu, son of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi. At a feast during the campaign Güyük quarrelled openly with Batu and insulted him. Ögedei recalled his son and rebuked him severely, and the enmity between the two cousins shaped the rest of Güyük's life.

The Regency of Töregene

Ögedei died in December 1241. His widow, Töregene, governed the empire as regent and worked to secure the succession for Güyük, although Ögedei was said to have favoured others. Batu, now the senior prince of the family, did everything he could to delay the election. He pleaded ill health and stayed on the lower Volga, where he was building up his own khanate, later known as the Golden Horde, with its capital at Sarai.

Reign of Güyük Khan

The kurultai, the great assembly of the Mongol princes, finally met near Karakorum in the summer of 1246, without Batu. Güyük was elected and enthroned that August.

Among the crowds of vassal rulers and envoys was John of Plano Carpini, sent by Pope Innocent IV to learn the Mongols' intentions. He described the tribute brought to the new khan: gold, silver, precious stones and silk garments, which he said filled some five hundred carts and were shared out between the khan and his chiefs.

Güyük's reply to the pope, written in Persian and sealed with his seal, survives in the Vatican archives. It rejected the pope's call to accept Christianity and demanded that he and the kings of Europe come in person to submit. Carpini's report on his mission warned that the Mongols intended further war in Europe and advised Christian rulers on how to resist them.

Government

Güyük moved quickly against his mother's favourites. Her confidante Fatima was tried and put to death, and ministers she had dismissed, among them Chinqai and Mahmud Yalavach, were restored. He also intervened in the affairs of the Chagatai khanate, replacing its ruler with his own friend Yesü Möngke.

Several of his leading officials, including Chinqai and his old tutor Qadaq, were Christians of the Church of the East, often called Nestorians. Carpini heard from Christians at the court that they expected the khan to become a Christian himself. He did not, but he treated the Christians with notable favour.

Death and End of Reign

In 1247 Güyük set out westwards with an army, saying that the climate of his own lands in the west would restore his health. Many at the time believed his real purpose was to attack Batu, and Tolui's widow, Sorghaghtani Beki, is said to have sent Batu a secret warning.

The two armies never met. Güyük died on the march in the spring of 1248, aged about forty-two. The cause is unknown. He had long been in poor health and was a heavy drinker, and some suspected poison.

His widow, Oghul Qaimish, ruled as regent and tried to keep the throne in Ögedei's line, but she had little support. With Batu's backing, a kurultai in 1251 elected Tolui's eldest son, Möngke. The new khan purged the supporters of the house of Ögedei, and Oghul Qaimish was put to death.

Legacy

Güyük's death probably prevented a civil war between the branches of Genghis Khan's family. It also moved power permanently to the line of Tolui, from which Möngke, Hülegü and Kublai descended. Under Möngke and Kublai the Mongols turned their full strength on Song China, and in 1279 Kublai completed its conquest. No Chinese porcelain can be associated with Güyük's reign; the Yuan wares collectors prize were made in the following century.